Taken from: Seeing Emily by Joyce Lee Wong (p 132-133)

CONFIDING IN ALEX

When I went to work

on the mural the next day

Alex was already there.

He looked up from the painting

with a smile of greeting

then studied me for a moment

and asked, "Is something wrong?"

I found myself telling him

about the test

and he nodded sympathetically.

"No one wants to disappoint

their parents,"he said.

He thought for a moment, then said,

"You've done well

on the other math tests, haven't you?"

I nodded and he said,

"The semester's not over yet.

I think you can still make up for this one."

His smile was so kind

I found myself smiling back.

Just then, I noticed

what Alex was painting,

a group of ferns,

the fronds curling at the tips

like peacock feathers,

their thin-fingered leaves

ranging in the shade

from brilliant blue-green

to cool slate-gay,

te color of the sky just before

it releases a gentle spring rain.

"What do you think?" Alex asked.

"It's perfect," I said,

meaning it.

I picked up a brush

and when I started to paint

I felt something like calm

settling over me

like the mist that follows

a shower in May,

the wet air diffusing

the wam yellow sun

shining through.

Sometimes

on a day like this

if you're lucky enough,

you migt even see

a fragment of rainbow

spreading itself

across the sky.